Sometimes you just have to take flight.A
summer in New Orleans is exactly what Allie needs before starting
college. Accepting her dad’s invitation to work at his hotel offers an
escape from her ex-boyfriend and the chance to spend the summer with her
best friend. Meeting a guy is the last thing on her mind—until she sees
Levi.Unable to resist the infuriating yet alluring Levi, Allie
finds herself at the center of a supernatural society and forced to
decide between following the path she has always trusted or saving a
city that might just save her.

Freshman year of college is hard even when you're not tied to the future king of a supernatural society.Allie dives into college head first with Hailey as her roommate and the city of New Orleans as her backyard. As things within The Society heat up, Allie realizes that whether she’s with Levi or not, she's in far too deep to turn back.

Excerpt from Flight

We walked through
the French Quarter slowly, and I tried to take it all in. The music,
the crowds, and the atmosphere still felt surreal. Music spilled out
of the endless bars and clubs.

“Wow, are those
people seriously dressed up as vampires?” I asked, looking in at a
dark bar on the corner. Inside I watched a man and woman holding up a
chalice and smiling with fangs showing.

Levi laughed. “If
you think those people are weird, you’d be freaked out by the real
thing.”

“The real thing?
Very funny.”

“What, you don’t
think vampires are real?”

“No, and I’m
glad they aren’t.”

“Why? Do they
scare you?” Levi stopped walking, and turned me to look at him.

“Okay, listen,
scaring me isn’t a good way to get me interested, so if you have
any weird tricks up your sleeve just shelve them.” I wondered if
this was the time to tell him I avoided horror movies like the
plague.

“No tricks,
hon.” Levi pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted a few
times.

I continued my
people watching. I’d never seen so many middle-aged people laughing
and partying before. It almost felt like the twilight zone.

Levi slipped his
phone back in his pocket. “We’re meeting everyone over at Club
360.”

“What’s that?”

“The lounge on
the top of the World Trade Center down by the river.”

“Okay, is it a
cool view?”

“Yeah, it’s
got a good view.” Levi laughed again and I had the distinct
impression he was hiding something from me.

“You promise you
aren’t luring me into some trap?”

“A trap? No.
Let’s just call it a new experience.”

My stomach
dropped. What the heck did I get myself into?

Author Info

Alyssa Rose Ivy

Alyssa Rose Ivy is a Young Adult and New Adult author who loves to weave
stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New
York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans
for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to
her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with
her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a
cup of coffee in her hand.

I'd like to thank Xpresso Book Tours and Alyssa Rose Ivy for this giveaway! One Paperback Princess Reader will win an ebook copy of Flight Book #1 in The Crescent Chronicles. Please fill the Rafflecopter form below...GOOD LUCK!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Ten Most Frustrating Characters

A selfish character who essentially only cared for herself more than anyone else.

2. Bella Swan from Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

Need I say more lol

3. Caroline from Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith

Caroline was one of those insecure girls that had to make others feel bad or look down upon people to make herself feel better. Elena was meant to be one of Caroline's best friend and yet she is constantly competing with Elena.

4. Lissa Dragomir from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Lissa felt pathetic in Vampire Academy. It felt like she did not really care enough about Rose to assert any kind of independance and strength. She just had a weak character, and whilst Richelle probably wrote her to be like that so Rose can be the hero in her series, I felt like she was made too pathetic.

5. Maura from Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Maura had your typical middle-child syndrome, always felt like she had to go beyond to ensure she is noticed. I did not like her stupidity in this book. It is essentially her that created the mess for her family.

6. Lillith from Lharmellin Trilogy by Rhiannon Hart

Lillith had cried for the fiancee she was terribly in love with and lost and mere weeks later she already had a new fiancee that she was once again terribly in love with!

7. Mallory from Carnival of the Souls by Melissa Marr

She had already been told by her Father that her little boyfriend is a demon and yet she lets him into their home. It's like the silly girls in horror movies that always freeze or trip over!!!

8. Frankie from Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Frankie after the death of her brother turned conceited and boy-crazy. She had recently suffered tragic events in her life and yet she was more concerned about finding boys. I do understand that this was meant to be her coping mechanism, changing how she is, but come on! She was a bit OTT in the boy-craze thing.

9. Cecily from Wither by Lauren de Stefano

Just an imature and ungrateful brat-like attitude.

10. Reed from Private series by Kate Brian

I cannot stand characters that are smart and yet they make the most stupidest decisions or don't see what is in plain sight, or worse in Reed's case, she knows what they are doing to her and yet she continues to allow it.

Link to your own Top Ten post and check out everyone else's list here.

Book Description:

During her abduction and assault, Audrey begins to hear a
voice. She hopes she’s not going crazy, because after what
she’s experienced, that’s the most logical explanation. However, as she
begins to listen to the voice, Audrey realizes that someone may
be telepathically trying to help her.

Unfortunately,
rescue isn’t all she needs. In order to leave behind the constant
reminders, she flees to her Aunt Kate’s house in San Diego, and assumes a
new identity. It works—until the eighteen-year-old twin boys who live
next door threaten to break through the protective walls she’s worked so
hard to build.

Between Caleb going
out of his way to befriend her and Justin avoiding her at all costs,
Audrey doesn’t know if normalcy will ever find her again. But one thing
is certain: When a familiar danger resurfaces, it’s the same voice that
she turns to—a voice that is not only real, but a lot closer than she
realizes.

Gripping and tastefully told, The Voice is a story of healing, trust, and courage.

To help spread the word about the fact that Jeanette Battista's LEOPARD MOON, the first book in the Moon series, is available for free at Amazon for the Kindle until the end of the month we've invited the author to the blog to share a guest post about her experience writing the book.

The Moon series consists of four books - LEOPARD MOON, JACKAL MOON, HYENA MOON and HUNTER MOON - and is a series author Melissa Marr says, "... is filled with action and romance, shape shifters and strong heroines."

A wereleopard, Kess is forced to flee her home and family in Miami once her brother's obsession with her turns violent. She runs from city to city, trying to stay one step ahead of the investigators her family has dispatched to bring her home. Kess ends up in the mountains of North Carolina and attracts the attention of Cormac, a young man with a secret of his own. As she attempts to live as normal a life as her were-nature allows, her brother Sek continues to hunt for her. He believes she is the key to revitalizing their weakened clan and is driven to extreme measures to ensure their continued existence. As Kess' relationship with Cormac deepens, Sek closes in, threatening Cormac's life and Kess' freedom.

When the moon rises, the hunt is on….

Dimitri Williams Photography
Source: Author's website

About the Author

Jeanette Battista graduated with an English degree with a concentration in medieval literature which explains her possibly unhealthy fixation on edged weapons and cathedral architecture. She spent a summer in England and Scotland studying the historical King Arthur, which did nothing to curb her obsession. To satisfy her adrenaline cravings—since sword fighting is not widely accepted in these modern times—she rode a motorcycle at ridiculously high speeds, got some tattoos, and took kickboxing and boxing classes. She gave up the bike when her daughter came along, although she still gets pummeled at the gym on a regular basis.

When she’s not writing or working, Jeanette spends time with family, hikes, reads, makes decadent brownies, buys killer boots, and plays Pocket Frogs. She wishes there were more hours in the day so she could actually do more of these things. She lives with her daughter and their ancient, ill-tempered cat in North Carolina.

I'll be honest--I wasn't planning to write a book like Leopard Moon. I had an entirely different story in my head at the time, but it just wasn't coming into clear focus. That's the funny way writing works though: there I am, sitting at a red light on my way to meet my friends for a birthday martini and pedicure, listening to Florence + the Machine and WHAM! The song Howl comes on and this whole lovely scene just starts unfolding in my head. There was Kess, running through the woods, ripping off of her clothes as she triggered a change into a black leopard. And there was Cormac, standing in a different part of the woods being beaten mercilessly by the villain. I didn't know Sek was going to turn out to be Kess' brother, but I did know who he was as a character and what he wanted.

It was truly a gift: the entire final fight scene just unspooled itself along with the song lyrics. Each beat of the song matched a key point in the fight. The more I listened, the more I realized that the lyrics could apply to all of the characters in the main triangle at some point in the story I suddenly wanted to tell. And I wanted that story to be more than just boy meeting girl--I wanted that story to be about girl saving boy, but more importantly about girl saving herself. The song Howl gave me Kess first and Sekhmet second, so a lot of what I tried to do with them was to show them as two halves of a whole, two sides of a coin. Howl, at least to me, wasn't a love song at all--it was a song about possession and obsession and all of those things that show up in our animal drives. that we'd like to forget exists.

So when I began to craft Kess and Sek, Howl played on a continuous loop. And though the song speaks of wolves, I knew these two had to be cats. Wolves have a more social nature and are more easily understood by us--I think it comes from them being a a precursor to our beloved dogs. Cats are an unknown quantity, strange and separate, even if they choose to share space with us. I wanted real darkness there, not just a brief bit of danger that would be easily resolved. Obsession and mental illness gave Sek that scariness, but also--I hope--a bit of sympathy. He really does love his sister and wants what is best for her and his clan. I never intended to excuse his behavior, but I did want to try and understand it.

Just like the song made me understand that narrator of that story. I can only hope I did half so well.

***

To meet Kess, Cormac and Sek in this first book in the Moon series, head over to Amazon to download the Kindle eBook for free until January 31st.

Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of
his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about
how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things
start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength
helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the
school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then
a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will
change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long
line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family
business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that
children are off-limits...until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has
only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little
town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.

As if that weren't enough, things get
even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach
(as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge
against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and
painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to
battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But
perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his
past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they
whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want
him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly
discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of
monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.

Author Jeff Gunhus

Jeff Gunhus grew up in Cyprus, Greece,
and Saudi Arabia where there was a distinct lack of television. He
quickly found books were the gateway to incredible adventures,
fascinating characters and unbelievable discoveries. Now, with five
children of his own (all who watch too much television, in his
opinion), he has enjoyed revisiting his old books and reliving those
adventures all over again.

"Gunhus brings young readers a
monster-filled romp to read at their own risk. In the first few
pages, Jack, the storyteller and main character, warns readers not to
read about these real-world monsters that would seem to only exist in
fiction. The tone is set--sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek and likable;
rooting for Jack is easy...Gunhus masterfully introduces fully
realized characters with whom readers can connect almost instantly.
The pacing is quick but not rushed, and events seamlessly progress,
complete with action, cliff-hangers and surprise reveals. "

Amazon Reviews

Watch out Percy Jackson here
comes Jack Templar

Move over Harry Potter and Percy
Jackson, there's a new kid in town - Jack Templar, and he will take
you on a wonderful adventure of good vs evil, with friends and
enemies at every turn. The twists and turns keep the reader on a
roller coaster of entertainment in the way of JK Rowling and Rick
Riordan. ~ Penny Brein

Fast paced adventure through
and through

Written for middle school aged
students, this book is action-packed from the beginning and will hold
the attention of young readers. Not only that, as an adult reader, it
was hard to put down, so parents will enjoy it as an easy read. ~
bluejellybean

Kids will love it!

Not only will kids love it, adults will
too! I don't want to give the plot away but this is a book worth
reading. This book is creatively written drawing in the reader to be
a participant in the story. There is lots of action with enough blood
and guts to be interesting without being gross. Girls will like it
too with the strong female role models and the hint of romance. Even
though this is a children's book, I couldn't put it down. I will
definitely be adding this to my classroom library. I am looking
forward to reading the book in this series and sharing it with my
students. Awesome book! ~ pixiep

Yeah, you read it
right. I’m a monster hunter. Back before I actually became one, I
would have thought that sounded totally awesome. And don’t get me
wrong, in a lot of ways it is. But most of the time, I’m either
running for my life or hiding in the shadows, praying the monster
chasing me doesn’t pick up my scent. And I’m almost always scared
to death. In a few pages, I think you’ll see why.

But
there are a few things I need to warn you about before I tell you my
story.

First,
this isn’t a cartoon. These are bloodthirsty creatures who will
stop at nothing to kill. They are scary. Very scary. Second, the only
way to stop them is to kill them first…and that gets gross and
messy. Third, this is all real.

You
think I’m kidding, don’t you? I can almost see you smirking as
you read this. But this isn’t a joke. Monsters are real and the
story I’m about to tell you really happened. If you’d rather walk
through life believing that monsters are only found in books or on
the movie screen, then you should shut this book right now and go do
something else.

I give
you these warnings because the story I’m about to tell you isn’t
for everyone. Not everyone can handle it. The blood. The gore. The
monsters.

This
life was thrust onto me. I had no choice but to take up a sword and
fight. But you can still walk away and pretend this dark world
doesn’t exist. Or you can walk through the door that I’m about to
open and find out the truth about the world around you.

But I
warn you (and this is a big warning), if you read this book, if you
learn about the monsters that roam among us and the hunters who fight
them, if you decide to learn the truth, then you will become fair
game for the monsters to chase.

Make
sure you understand what I’m saying.

If you
read this book, you will be part of this world and the monsters will
come after you too. You will start to see things that no other humans
can see. The shadows will move when you walk near them. The creatures
of the night will seek you out, testing the doors and windows of your
house, looking for a way in.

And, at
some point, they will find you, just like they found me, and you will
be forced to defend yourself.

So,
think carefully before you turn the page, because once you do,
there’s no turning back.

Open only to those who can legally
enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash.
Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No
purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your
parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and
announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond
or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated
with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless
otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received
determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from
I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by
the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

This week's Featured Bloggers

What is the last book that kept you up late into the night just to finish it?

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang. I loved the concept of two souls in one body til a certain age where the dominant soul remains whilst the other simply disappears. It reminds me of children with imaginary friends and then eventually they grow out of the imagining stage and their imaginary friend disappears.

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva
and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven
together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they
learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did
the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them
fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their
parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and
Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past
three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows
she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they
discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are
unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are
caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . .
for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Today at Paperback Princess, I'd like to welcome our second Aussie YA Author for our Australia Day Feature; Rhiannon Hart. Author to the Lharmellin Trilogy.

I'll introduce you to Rhiannon's first two books; Blood Song and Blood Storm.We'll finish this post of with a fun Aussie Quiz!

I wanted to turn but I was held captive by the song on the wind. I’m coming, I told the voices. Please, wait for me.

When
her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation,
Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are
by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally
being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as
different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her
secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for
anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems
to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined
to find out more.

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice
everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is
beyond her worst nightmares?

The rain wanted to
be ocean; the ice in the mountain caps wanted freedom. I never knew that
water held such longing. The clouds above my head rumbled like a
growling wolf, impatient to release their burden. I held the rain there a
moment longer. I turned to Renata, heard her gasp and knew my eyes
glowed blue.I spoke a single word. 'Rain.'

In the
Second Book of Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden must travel across the sea
to find the elusive ingredients that will help them to win the coming
battle against the Lharmellin – but shadows from Rodden’s dark past may
come back to haunt him. And while she learns to harness her new
abilities, Zeraphina still fights the hunger that makes her crave the
north – not to mention avoiding her mother, who wants to see her wayward
daughter married to a prince at all costs.

Aussie Fun Quiz with Rhiannon Hart

Vegemite
or Nutella?Vegemite!

Koala
or Kangaroos?

Kangaroos, because they're much more interesting than sleepy koalas in the daytime.

Favourite
Australian landmark?

The dish in Parkes, NSW. A gorgeous thing, and a great movie too.

We're
known for our slangs, what's your favourite Australian
slang and for those that may not know what it means, what
does that mean?Pash and dash. A pash is a kiss, and a pash and dash means you kiss someone and then run away!

What's
the one thing from Australia that you must have unlimited supply of
to take with you when you travel or if you were to migrate to another
country?

A warm pair of socks and a cardie. Planes, trains and buses are always over air-conditioned.

What
do you love most about being an Aussie or Australia in general?

How
friendly and approachable people are. I was told by a Frenchman that if
you are alone in a bar in Paris, even as a Parisian, the locals aren't
likely to befriend you or even talk to you. I find that rather sad. He
found Australians to be very welcoming and curious about his culture.

On
a more serious note, I'm proud about our auto and semi-auto gun buyback
scheme that was introduced after the Port Arthur massacre. No one needs
military grade weapons in their homes. It's one of the very few times
I've been proud of former prime minister John Howard and the way the
bill received bipartisan support.

Top Ten 2013 Debuts I'm Looking Forward To

1. Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton

Elizabeth Caldwell
doesn’t feel emotions . . . she sees them. Longing, Shame, and Courage
materialize around her classmates. Fury and Resentment appear in her
dysfunctional home. They’ve all given up on Elizabeth because she
doesn’t succumb to their touch. All, that is, save one—Fear. He’s
intrigued by her, as desperate to understand the accident that changed
Elizabeth’s life as she is herself.

Elizabeth and Fear both sense
that the key to her past is hidden in the dream paintings she hides in
the family barn. But a shadowy menace has begun to stalk her, and try as
she might, Elizabeth can barely avoid the brutality of her life long
enough to uncover the truth about herself. When it matters most, will
she be able to rely on Fear to save her?

2. Splintered by A.G Howard

This stunning debut
captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a
girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the
whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her
mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches
back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis
Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.When
her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns
that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The
real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis
Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests,
including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea
party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and
save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous
best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her
guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

3. Broken by A.E Rought

Imagine a modern
spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love
and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the
destruction of them all.

A string of suspicious deaths near a
small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma
Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically
moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other,
complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the
town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled
tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the
fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a
renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an
enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is
as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the
way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she
shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just
like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something
inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And
when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of
mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate,
creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she
knows.

4. The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being
the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind,
and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But
when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more
complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his
dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is
dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now
Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of
them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the
killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

5. The Ruining by Anna Collomore

Annie Phillips is
thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on
Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no
time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby,
the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she
ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door.

All
too soon cracks appear in Annie's seemingly perfect world. She's blamed
for mistakes she doesn't remember making. Her bedroom door comes
unhinged, and she feels like she's always being watched. Libby, who once
felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she
struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie's fear
gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness,
or is something sinister at play?

6. Pantomine by Laura Lam

R. H. Ragona’s Circus
of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing
blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are
wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything
seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the
magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a
place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the
daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline,
and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway
living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and
soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

But Gene and Micah have
balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that
could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

7. Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

Mila 2.0 is
the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage
girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial
intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her
identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota
town. She was supposed to forget her past —that she was built in a
secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people
would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the
dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much
and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock
her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond
anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her
life.

8. Pivot Point by Kasie West

Addison Coleman’s life
is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a
choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the
ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When
Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to
pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the
paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is
staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as
it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the
future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is
adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high
school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands
her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in
school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When
Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s
unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she
holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which
reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live
without.

9. Prophecy by Ellen Oh

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s
the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a
demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city
of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and
discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run
with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King
Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With
only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon
soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once
lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

10. The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old
Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid,
attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal
that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her
father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and
continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to
find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's
handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway,
Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island,
only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has
experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as
humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is
killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific
curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments
and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island
falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and
madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The
Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless
Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the
truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.